


I'd been down, give me some space, you don't know what's in my brain

by cutebutpsyco



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, IronStrange Big Bang 2019, M/M, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Past Pepperony, Past Stephen Strange/Clea Strange, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sofia Strange is Baby, Stephen Strange is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, actually it happened in another dimension, and a daughter too, but still, do not post on other sites, pepper died, stephen strange has a heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 23:08:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20629061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutebutpsyco/pseuds/cutebutpsyco
Summary: Tony needs a place where to go which doesn't remind him of Pepper. He decides that the safest place where to go is the Sanctum, and there he goes with Morgan. The last thing he expects for is his life becoming even more complicated.





	I'd been down, give me some space, you don't know what's in my brain

**Author's Note:**

> After ages, here it is, my new fic! I'm super happy for how it turned out, especially because I had the opportunity to introduce a character of which I knew pretty much anything about. And I fall in love with her.
> 
> So, this is my fic for the Ironstrange BigBang created by the wonderful mods of the Ironstrange Haven and of the Ironstrange Discord Server on which I'm pretty much a little ghost. Anyway, I want to thank so much Diana (why-the-face on tumblr) for the beautiful art that you can find in the fic (she's also one of my favorite artists on Tumblr and I've been so happy to work with her), and Kate (notjustamom on Tumblr) for being a wonderful beta who not only helped me with the tricky parts of the English language but also who gave me a lot of useful advice. Still, all the mistakes are still mine.
> 
> Title from Antisocial by Ed Sheeran (his new album is super inspiring), and, as always, nothing belongs to me if not a little bit of Sofia's characterization because i have no idea of how she really is in the comics.

Stephen was meditating in the main room of the Sanctum, trying to pretend he didn’t hear the sounds that came from the kitchen. They were the sounds of someone who was actually using it, even if the Sorcerer Supreme knew they didn’t have the foggiest idea of what they were doing and would end up ordering the breakfast from some take-out place. There was no news, in that. 

_Au contraire_, it was what happened almost every morning since the two people who were currently inhabiting the Sanctum had moved there. But it was nice. Despite the fact that Stephen felt responsible for what had happened and would have preferred to be alone, it was nice. Wong commented that it shouldn’t have been, and it wasn’t, Stephen knew, from the bottom of his heart, that he should have refused the request, but he couldn’t. Not when Tony showed up at the Sanctum doorstep, his right arm badly mangled and fused into the armour and the right side of his face still bore the scars from the power from the Infinity Stones, the Arc Reactor back once again in his chest, and Morgan nestled against it, fast asleep, in his good arm. 

“We need a place to stay,” he said quietly, eyes reddened by tears. And Stephen knew that the only reason why he didn’t reek of alcohol was the girl in his arms. “Just for tonight, I can’t stay at the lake house and the Compound is destroyed, and I don’t want to bother May. I -”

“I’ve spare rooms,” Stephen answered. He didn’t ask, it wasn’t necessary to, he knew and this didn’t help his guilt, but he could live with that, he already lived with a lot worse. “You can go upstairs, find a room for Morgan and choose the one you prefer for yourself. And feel free to stay as long as you like.”

If Tony took that courtesy to the letter, Stephen wasn’t one to complain. Having someone around the Sanctum was, indeed, pleasant, especially if that someone was a genius always ready to create something unique and had an adorable daughter. Especially when, in spite of everything, neither of them blamed him for what happened to their wife and mother. Pepper had died because of him. 

He hadn’t foreseen that possibility, not exactly. He had seen Tony taking the Stones, and snapping his fingers, what he didn’t see was Pepper taking his hand a moment before he snapped. What he didn’t see was the power of the Stones flowing through both their bodies leaving Tony critically injured and his wife and partner dead. Peter Quill explained to him later that something similar had happened to him and his team when they used the Power Stone against Ronan the Accuser. Groot, who was fully grown, back at the time, died because he shielded them from the power of the stone itself and Stephen suspected that Pepper died because her suit, unlike Tony’s, wasn’t made to bear the strength of one Stone, let alone the six of them together. He hadn’t known, he should have studied up on them, but, at the time, he was trying to focus on everything else. 

Everything else, at that moment, seemed to be Morgan’s voice that brought him back from his meditation routine. She was saying something about the eggs and Strange almost tripped over his feet trying to get up as he hoped they hadn’t touched the weird green and purple alien eggs from a different dimension that Stephen brought back when a dark creature killed their mother. He wanted to save the children, whatever they happened to be, but settinging them loose on New York, or cooking them wasn’t quite what he had planned. 

What he didn’t expect, though, was to find himself face to face with Wong who was taking care of the morning omelettes, apparently. The man silently reminded him again that the Sanctum was a place of study and meditation and they kept a horde of ancient, not to mention magical relics there, which meant it was hardly the place for an erratic creator and mechanic and his daughter, though he never told him to send them away. Stephen suspected that his title of Sorcerer Supreme wasn’t the reason behind that. It was more likely that his closest friend knew that Stephen felt guilty about Pepper’s death and the current status of Tony’s arm and mental state. 

What was odd, though, was that Wong was in the Sanctum at all. He usually stayed at Kamar-Taj, coming back to New York once or twice per week to update Stephen or to call him for some mission in which he was needed, but they all were scheduled ahead of time. And cooking breakfast wasn’t one of his usual concerns on those days he did visit. 

“Strange,” the librarian said the moment the Sorcerer entered the room. His eyes looked for Tony first. It was a thing he had found himself doing since the first moment the genius moved in. Stephen could admit, at least to himself, that the man entered his mind often, as his kindness and the way in which he chose to sacrifice himself shocked him. He saw himself in the other man in more ways than he wished to. 

“Has something happened?” He asked, turning his eyes back on Morgan who greeted him with a soft smile before looking at his friend. The Cloak watched them silently from the corner of the kitchen, as if too lazy to bring itself to do its job. Stephen smiled at the idea, while he knew it was probably the real reason. 

“Can’t I just stop by to say hello?” Wong muttered ironically. Apparently, irony was quickly becoming the new native language in the Sanctum and Stephen couldn’t and wouldn’t complain. 

“Only if you brought good coffee.”

The librarian decided to ignore Tony’s remark, going back to focus on the Sorcerer Supreme: “Nothing has happened. But there’s someone at Kamar-Taj that I think you should meet.”

Stephen wasn’t too surprised in seeing that there was a portal already opened. He had always been a curious person, and maybe his willingness to learn new things was a direct consequence of that, he couldn’t say with certainty. What he knew, though, for certain, was that he had never been good at waiting or surprises. He needed to know because only when he knew he could plan. And that was the reason why he had looked into so many futures on Titan: he needed to see and to plan. Not being able to do that, not being able to see far ahead enough before the battle against Thanos had been frightening and it wasn’t rare for him to wake up in the middle of the night, scared that he wouldn’t be prepared enough, or strong enough when the next inevitable threat arrived in their dimension. “Who are they?”

Wong shook his head in the most perfect manner of someone who was sure he didn’t want to know what was going to happen after and then nodded at the portal that he had left open. That was enough for Morgan to turn all of her attention onto Stephen. The Sorcerer Supreme couldn’t deny that he loved the kind of affection that the young girl seemed to show him every now and then. He had never thought about children except in the abstract. The only real relationship he ever had in the last years was with Christine and she was more focused on her career than on the idea of becoming a mother, and, for Stephen, that was just perfect. He hadn’t cared one way or another, not until Morgan Stark fell asleep on the sofa in the Sanctum foyer while Tony was attending a Stark Industries board meeting and the Sorcerer had to carry the girl to her bed. 

It wasn’t the right moment to think about that, however. He nodded, running a hand in his hair before turning to his guests. “Do you wish to come with me or do you prefer to wait here?”

“A trip to Hogwarts?” Tony asked, causing Morgan to all but run towards the staircase, without any doubt on her way to fetch her Gryffindor scarf. “Count us in, Wizard.” 

Stephen would have retorted that he was a Sorcerer if the word came from anyone else, but he couldn’t bring himself to snap at Tony, even mildly, not after everything that happened and, especially, not after that he had seen the man drink himself to sleep every night since the day he appeared at his door. He was trying to do and to be better for his daughter, and the truth was that he was a great father, but when the young girl was asleep he just couldn’t bear to think or feel soberly about the recent or distant past and Strange knew that. He didn’t blame the man for that, he couldn’t, and that was the reason why he just nodded and bore every stupid nickname he came up with for Stephen. 

“Let’s go, before I decide to send Stark to another dimension,” Wong piped up, once Morgan joined them again, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. The librarian was still skeptical about Strange’s decision to open the Sanctum to Iron Man and daughter because magic should have been kept as hidden as much as possible - even if it had become harder and harder after the battle against Thanos - and having a very famous person living in was the worst way to do it, but Stephen was the Sorcerer Supreme and all Wong could offer was his advice and friendship. And Strange cherished them both too much. The mutual respect the two men had for each other was the real reason why they just decided to politely ignore their discordant opinions about Stark. But that didn’t stop Wong’s remarks, and it was fine, considering that most of those were pronounced primarily for Morgan’s entertainment. 

The girl followed him through the portal leaving the two heroes alone for a moment. Stephen’s eyes trailed over the other man's face. The right half was still scarred, but it wasn’t that what worried Strange. It was the totally panicked light in his dark eyes when they followed Morgan’s silhouette through the gateway. He was still, perfectly frozen in front of the orange circle that was sparkling in the middle of the Sanctum kitchen. On the other side of it, Stephen could see the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, but Wong and Morgan had probably moved to the side so that Stephen and Tony could walk through the ring of light without bumping into them. 

It didn’t require a genius or a sorcerer, though, to understand that not seeing his daughter was freaking Stark out. Stephen approached him and placed a hand against the other man’s left shoulder, having him to turn and look at him. “Hey,” he whispered. “Mag is waiting for you on the other side of the portal.”

It was a silly name that Stephen had come up with for her, considering that Tony at times called his daughter Maguna. He didn’t even know when that started, but apparently both Tony and the girl liked it and it was that sort of thing that grows on people until they use it without even noticing. Tony nodded, but he didn’t seem sure of his own gesture. “I know, it’s just… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Stephen smiled. “You are scared and that’s fine. I can walk through with you if you want me to.”

Tony looked at him uncertainly before nodding almost imperceptibly. “Don’t tell her,” He whispered, reaching towards the Sorcerer with his good hand. “She needs to see me strong and I can’t be afraid of walking through a portal.”

Stephen wanted to say that he didn’t have to feel guilty or less worthy, or whatever feeling Tony was experiencing in that moment, because of his fears. The truth was that Stephen was the last person in the world who could speak about that and between the incredible amount of things he was, hypocrite wasn’t one of those. So he just nodded, and without letting go of Tony’s hand, he stepped to the other side of the gateway.

The portal led them to Kamar-Taj, not that Stephen expected anything different, and the moment Morgan reached the yard a couple of novices ran towards her. Stephen knew that it was a bit unusual that in the short time Tony and his daughter lived at the Sanctum they were already well-known in Nepal, though it wasn’t as if he could leave them alone in the Sanctum, unguarded, and he knew Tony didn’t like to go out on his own any longer. It was sad, considering who the man was, but Stephen understood him better than everyone. 

“Behave yourself, Maguna,” Stark said to Morgan once she asked them for permission to follow the students to the library. Wong rolled his eyes at the sky, and Stephen knew it was because nobody asked him if they could go. But Morgan Stark had the ability to get most anything she wanted thanks to her cuteness so everyone knew Wong wouldn’t have been opposed to the idea. 

Strange waited for the little group to leave and then turned to look at Wong, a questioning glance in his eyes. Tony was leaning closer to his side while pretending not to, and Stephen knew that that was his normal reaction to magic. He didn’t mind: the genius seemed to be comfortable around the Sorcerer Supreme and that was enough for them to live together, but he also knew that Tony would never completely accept the idea that the magic would not be used against him. Kamar-Taj wasn’t the best place for him to be, but it was here or the Sanctum and Stephen preferred to be where he could help the other man. 

“Who is she?” Tony asked, to no-one in particular and only at that moment, did Stephen take note of the dark-haired teen in the yard. She wasn’t wearing the robes of a Sorcerer, but the fact that she was at that moment, conjuring a spell was enough to make them understand that she had some connection to the Mystic Arts. The larger issue at hand was that Stephen had never seen her before. 

“I don’t know,” he admitted, looking to Wong a moment later for an explanation from his closest friend. The girl had sun-kissed skin, her almost black hair was pulled back in a braid and a sharply angular face, with high cheekbones and soft lips. She was wearing a t-shirt that seemed to be of handmade design and a pair of jeans. Stephen had never been good at determining age, but she was probably around Peter and Harley’s age. And yet he could see the way her hands moved expertly in the air, producing a brand of magic that he had never seen before. The movements of her hands and the effects they were creating were something he had seen just coming from the Ancient One or from himself, when he looked into possible futures. It was weird that such a young person could produce them at all. Thought Stephen knew better than to judge a book by its cover. 

“Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me,” Wong answered, moving closer to the girl and waving his hand so that the spell collapsed and she could see and reach them. “So, go on then, tell him who you are.”

The girl nodded, looking first at Tony and giving him a soft smile that reminded Stephen his once smitten patients used to give him at the hospital and then her intense and obviously intelligent gaze fell on him. “My name is Sofia,” she said, calmly, and it seemed like she was searching for a light of recognition in the depths of Stephen’s eyes. When none came, she continued: “I’m Sofia Strange, even if I’ve never used my true surname.”

Stephen opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, incapable of thought, let alone speech. The truth was, he had no idea of what to say. He had no idea who the girl was or what she might have wanted from him, or why she used his name. It wasn’t as if he were rich or famous, and most of the people in the world just knew him as the Sorcerer Supreme so the secrets of Kamar-Taj remained undisclosed. She didn’t have any reason to lie that he could understand. But, still, it didn’t make sense. 

“Is she your magical sister?” Tony, bless his soul, asked, and all Stephen could do was think about Donna and his thoughts carried him to an even darker place. Wong placed a hand on his arm as if he was trying to ground him, but Stephen knew it was pointless, and still, it didn’t answer his question. He drew in a sharp breath and tried to ease the look of concern dawning in Tony’s eyes. Why couldn’t he be a normal and functioning human being?

“No,” Sofia answered, once she realized nobody else was going to. “I’m not his sister. Her name was Donna, and she died when she and Stephen were kids. I am… Stephen is my father.”

And then the only thing that Strange could hear was the sound of his fretted heart. The terrible beating of it that echoed in his head and the memories of the day he couldn’t save Donna mixed with images of lives he lived but he had never been a part of. She wasn’t in the futures he had seen, but Stephen knew there were more that he had chosen not to see, and he hadn’t been strong enough, on Titan, to find a solution in the millions more future scenarios. He just chose the first in which they won, and decided he didn’t care if that led to leaving Morgan without her mother. And now he couldn’t even breathe and call that girl out for her obvious lies. 

How could she know about Donna? The only people who knew were Christine and Wong and he trusted both of them with his life. He trusted both of them with his life both in the past and now. He knew neither of them had betrayed his trust, he knew they didn’t tell this mysterious young girl who was standing in front of them about the sister he had failed to save. 

A hand wrapped around his shaking right one and, a moment later, he was looking into whiskey brown eyes as Tony’s soft smile occupied his sight field. He found he could breathe now simply from looking into Tony’s eyes and sensing how he was trying to ease his mind. Even if Stephen knew he couldn’t show his own weaknesses to anyone, Tony was different, he had become a friend. He had seen Tony break down over and over since the first moment the Starks moved into the Sanctum, and he knew he could understand him like no one else could. 

“I’m sorry…” Sofia said, a moment later, her eyes wandering toward Wong who nodded at her a moment later, letting the girl know that it wasn’t her fault. “I didn’t want to - I thought that if I let you know I knew something you wouldn’t have shared with many people, well, you’d understand that I’m not lying, that I am who I say I am.” 

Which made sense, actually. Not that he was the kind of person that people beat down the doors to admit that they were his child, but still. He nodded, not trusting his voice yet, before turning to look at Wong, as if he was expecting some explanation to come from the librarian. Tony, at his side, their hands still joined, was the first to break the silence: “Welcome to fatherhood, Strange. I’ll let you have a club card.”

Stephen smiled again, then turned to look at the girl, trying to decide on the first question he should ask her. There were many, jamming up his mind at that moment. “First question I should ask, I suppose, is, ‘who is your mother?’” He thought that was fair. He would have known if one of his old flames had become pregnant. It wasn’t as the list was extremely long, and based on the girl’s age he could automatically eliminate out some possible candidates. 

“Her name is Clea. I don’t think you ever get to meet her in this dimension,” Sofia answered, as if it was the most common thing in the world. “She’s Dormammu’s sister and the princess of the Dark Dimension. I don’t know a lot about her. I grew up on Earth, never really met her, and all I knew about you was that she wiped out your memories of me.” Stephen didn’t like the sound of the sound of Clea at all but decided that it was better to let Sofia finish. He could feel Tony physically pushing down all the questions that he simply couldn’t help, and the Sorcerer was grateful that he decided to stay quiet. “When I asked her, she told me the reason was that she wanted to protect me. But the truth is, I grew up learning how to protect myself.” 

She smiled, moving a hand so that they could see sparkles of orange magic leaving her fingers. 

“So, you basically learned magic on your own, while being raised by, and I’m quoting there, ‘the princess of the Dark Dimension’ who happens to be a mysterious lover of Stephen in another dimension?”

“Pretty much sums up everything, yes,” She answered brightly in response to Tony’s question. Stephen was still trying to wrap his mind around the girl’s words. He didn’t want to trust her, but the simple fact that Wong deemed her to be worthy of attention meant that she was probably telling the truth. Again, there didn’t seem to be a reason for her to lie to them.

“It doesn’t explain why you appear to be a teenager, though,” Tony continued, and when everyone around them sent him an interrogative glance, he continued: “She should be, at best, only two years older than Morgan, I mean, I doubt you travelled through dimensions as a neurosurgeon.”

Stephen cursed himself because he didn't think of that detail before. But, again, she could have been from a different dimension as well, still, that was a good question to ponder. “I’m not of this Earth. And, anyway, it’s not as if my mom knows how time works, she’s basically an immortal entity due to the fact that time isn’t a thing in the Dark Dimension. She can take a human form, though, and I am, indeed, human. I just don’t think I’ve ever been a child.” 

Stephen didn’t know what to say. What Sofia was saying was weird, but not the weirdest thing he had ever seen or heard of since he arrived at Kamar-Taj some years prior. The point was that now everyone around them had stopped with their training and was staring at them in the middle of the yard as if they were watching the next episode of their favourite tv show. He didn’t like that. At all. 

“I just… That’s… We should go back to the Sanctum, I think it’s better. Then we can speak about everything there in more comfortable surroundings. Let’s take Morgan and we can go?” Tony nodded, disappearing a moment later inside the Kamar-Taj compound and leaving Stephen and the person who, apparently, was his daughter alone for the first time. 

“I can show you the memories mom tried to eliminate,” she said, after a moment, and Stephen could recognize that she was certainly the direct type. As he was himself. “I mean, I wouldn’t let a stranger mingle with my mind, but I’m pretty good with mental magic and maybe it’ll be, I don’t know, easier for you?” 

The point was, Stephen wanted to believe her, he wanted not to look at her with suspicion, but it wasn’t how his brain worked, so he simply declined the offer, turning back to look at the apprentices who were finally going back to their training. He knew he couldn’t trust her. He knew the moment he trusted someone that person was the one who would end up stabbing him in the back, again Wong and Christine being the only two exceptions. He was trying to trust Tony, but he couldn’t, not quite yet. Considering his strict parameters, how could he trust someone who just appeared and claimed to be his daughter?

He was still trying to find a way to refuse her offer gracefully, when Tony and Morgan came back ready to return again to the Sanctum. Stephen couldn’t help the fond smile that touched his lips, and he was well aware of it. The man and the young girl that had entered his life some months ago and brought so much energy into it had rapidly become Stephen’s family. He wasn’t so indifferent to Tony’s pain to speak of his happiness because he knew that he couldn’t, but he didn’t remember a time in which his home was so warm. 

“So, Stranger Things, when you two are ready, we are,” Tony said, smiling when Morgan crossed the distance between them and took Stephen’s hand. The Sorcerer felt the usual erratic energy that always came with the Starks and looked at the girl knowing that he had Sofia’s eyes on him. He didn’t care: Morgan had already lost so much and he wasn’t going to deny her a kind gesture. 

“Yeah, sure,” he said. But instead, he opened the portal and let Tony and Morgan precede him through that, just to close it once they were safe and sound at Rhodey’s. Stephen hated doing that, but he couldn’t permit Tony and, most importantly, Morgan, to share Sofia’s space until he was sure that she didn’t represent a threat to them. He felt his eyes turning to ice when he moved them on the teenager girl who was looking at him only mildly surprised. “Why are you really here?”

The expression on the girl’s face was lost for a moment. Her eyes, the same undefinable colour between green and blue, just like Stephen’s, opened wide. She looked as if she were waiting for some kind of further explanation, but Stephen wasn’t going to give her that much. Not until he was sure that she didn’t mean to hurt Tony, Morgan, or the Supreme Sorcerer himself. The two Starks had become his family, over the time they spent together at the Sanctum and Stephen wasn’t ready to lose them too. Especially not to this unknown girl. 

Sofia shook her head, and for a moment it was clear that she didn’t know what to do or to say before running a hand in her hair and nodding just once. “You don’t trust me,” she said, realization and sadness in her voice. “I get that, it’s fine, but I know Wong wouldn’t have called you if he wasn’t more than sure that I am the person I told you I am. He recognized the energy signature in my magic, it’s similar to yours.”

Stephen didn’t even know that was possible, he still had a lot to learn about magic and he was well aware of that. But he trusted the librarian, and if he said that Sofia was his daughter he couldn’t simply ignore that. “I have learned over the years not to trust too quickly, especially in recent months.”

She nodded again, and while there was a certain sadness in the depths of her eyes, he couldn’t tell the reason for it. “I’m not lying: I'll tell you everything, including why I am here. I’m sorry Mom did this to you.”

Stephen couldn’t tell what was going on; he knew that the best way was to close his mouth and open his mind, as the Ancient One had once instructed, and let the girl speak, even if he didn’t like the idea of someone getting this close to Morgan. Even if the idea of that person being his own daughter was making everything even more complicated. He had never thought about being a father, and now, apparently, he had been for the past sixteen years just in a different dimension. 

“Tell me how is this possible?”

“You are a doctor, you should…” She raised an eyebrow, questioning, and Stephen hated how she reminded him of himself in that moment. His stern glance should have sufficed enough, though, because Sofia only shook her head and continued: “Whatever. You are no fun. I don’t know the entire story, I think Mom is the only person who knows it, but, apparently, in the dimension where I come from, the two of you had been married. I don’t know how long you stayed there, but then you divorced. I grew up in New Orleans with a nanny, Aunt Vesper, and when Thanos happened, it was different, for us-”

She stopped, and Stephen saw the sadness in her eyes at long last. It was clear that whatever Thanos did in her dimension was worse than what he did on theirs. The girl chewed on her lower lip, running a hand in her hair and making a mess out of it despite the braid. “I was alone, not that I had a lot of people around before, but this time was different. And when everyone came back, I couldn’t help them, and I was left with a lot of memories that weren’t… mine. I know it sounds crazy, but despite my powers, I can’t use portals in my dimension and then one day, one just opened and I knew what it meant once I saw mom.”

She was shaking, but her words had stopped having meaning for Stephen moments before. But there was something in the way her breathing was becoming forced, that pushed the Sorcerer to understand that he must put his diffidence at bay. He extended a shaking hand, letting it fall softly against Sofia’s shoulder, trying to ground her. 

“Breathe,” he whispered, tracing soothing circles on her skin. “You are safe now, you are with me, I’ll protect you.”

And the thing that surprised him was that the girl wrapped her arms around Stephen’s middle, grasping at him as if her life depended on that. He couldn’t trust her, but there was a desperation in her hug that couldn’t bring him to push her away either. So he just stayed there, slightly uncomfortable while he grew used to the weight of her body in her arms until she stopped shaking so furiously. That was the moment when the young Sorceress pushed back, wiping her eyes clean. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I shouldn’t…”

“It’s fine. I pushed you to tell me. I didn’t want to upset you, Sofia. I’m sorry,” was all Stephen was able to say, looking at his daughter who was trying to catch her breath. He wished to be able to help her somehow, but he also knew that any sudden movement could trigger another panic attack. “You don’t have to tell me. Let’s get some water, okay?”

At that, Sofia nodded and let her father opened a portal toward a place she didn’t expect to visit right now. It was probably out of habit or because Stephen subconsciously decided that he believed her, but he entered the New York Sanctum kitchen, filling a glass of water and handing it to her. That was probably loud enough because a moment later Stephen could hear steps against the wooden floor of the Sanctum and a moment later Tony appeared in front of them, a gun taken from god knows where in his hands even Stephen was well aware that his right arm was pure Iron Man suit and could provide much more firepower if they had been enemies. The genius, very likely, already understood they weren’t. And, apparently, he also decided it was a good idea to go back to the Sanctum the moment he realized Stephen portalled them elsewhere. 

“Hey, Strange Things and Stranger Baby,” he said, worried whiskey brown eyes running immediately over Stephen’s face. “I thought you wanted to keep us out of your family business.”

Stephen couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face, just for a moment before he went back to Sofia. The girl was nursing her glass of water, and it took an instant for her to register the engineer's words, but when she did a matching smile appeared on her lips. “I like him, he’s funny.”

A real smile, a rarity these days, appeared on Tony’s lips before he answered: “Oh, I see the resemblance now.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she told me she likes me,” Stark said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and, well, maybe Stephen cherished his company, but he wasn’t going to tell him anytime soon. 

“I’d never told you that, and never will either,” Stephen smiled back. He was surprised by how easy it had become to speak with Tony, when most people were intimidated by the man. Maybe it was because he had never been the kind of person to back off in front of a challenge and Stark was the best of them all, but another part of him was sure that it was because he had found an equal, for once, someone capable enough to keep up with him and he wasn’t bored after the first two seconds. 

“You definitely do, but I was speaking about something different,” he continued, now completely focused on Sofia. “Straight to the point, and says what she really thinks; this, Mr Doctor, is totally you. And, well, the fact that her first impression of me is being funny and not a douchebag, well, that makes her my favourite Strange around.”

And while Stephen knew that he should have spoken with Sofia more, hearing the girl laugh at that was enough for him to decide that whatever was happening in that room - and in his life as well - was good. “She still doesn’t know you.” 

“Neither did you.”

“I’ve always been pretty good at reading people.” Just for one moment, Tony’s eyes went darker, but once he shook his head that light was gone and Stephen could see whatever thought that had crossed his mind had disappeared. 

“So, don’t you want to show her around?” Stark asked, and while Stephen wasn’t sure about Sofia’s real identity yet, he decided it was a good idea. He could ask the Sanctum to keep her inside if she tried something with her magic and he already planned to make the protections stronger around both Morgan and Tony. Not that the Supreme Sorcerer thought that she would try something within his domain, but better to be safe than sorry at this point. Sofia seemed to be really lonely and looking for someone who could understand her. The sadness in her eyes was true enough, he sensed. No one was that good of an actor.. 

He smiled and nodded, leading Sofia to the upper floor while he had the Cloak set up a guest room for her. And if it happened to be as far as possible from Morgan, so that if she wanted to hurt her she had to wake up both him and Tony, it wasn’t like someone had to know. Maybe it was wrong how protective he felt toward Stark’s daughter, but she went through hell and back and there wasn’t anything the Sorcerer wouldn't have done for the little girl. And, possibly, her father too. 

\--

“So, Stranger Danger, are you going to tell me you forgot about having a baby witch?” Tony asked, hours later. Morgan was sleeping and Sofia had retired to her home after dinner and while he was sure she was overhearing what was being said, he was equally convinced that after a while she grew bored with the news and decided to sleep too. 

“That’s the point of the spell, and considering that I’m sure she’s not lying when she tells me her mother is Dormammu’s sister, I’d been surprised if I remembered... well, having a daughter.”

“You were going to say about fucking an interdimensional princess, weren’t you?” It was clear that Tony was having the time of his life. And it was too good for Stephen to let it go. 

“Yes, I was going to say that, but then I realized that I must behave toward my gentle guest and I decided not to hurt his ego.”

“Hurt my what, Houdini?”

“Well,” Stephen smiled, almost shyly, or it would have been on everyone else’s face. On the wizard’s it seemed just a wicked smile. “I’m not an expert, but I’m sure sleeping and not remembering having slept with an interdimensional princess beats having a past as a playboy who eventually settled down with a nice girl.”

Tony seemed to ponder Stephen’s words for a moment before answering: “I don’t know, we are both two old single dads, at this point, so maybe who really won was that princess of yours. I mean, she got the fun, the pretty face, and then packed your girl and send her off to you.” 

“Yeah, probably,” Stephen said, out of habit, before really realizing what Tony has said about his face. Not that the billionaire was really thinking about the fact that he had a pretty face, the Sorcerer Supreme excluded that immediately, but still, he couldn’t help but blush. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yep, she’s really your daughter,” Tony answered, and how he knew that it was the exact question Stephen was going to make was a mystery but he understood it. “And I'm not going to insult your intelligence by telling you how I know that was what you meant to ask me. We’ve lived together long enough.”

Stephen nodded and decided to stay silent for a while, considering all the options he had. He couldn’t be a father. He wasn’t supposed to be one, he never really thought about the possibility back when he was a doctor and sex was off the charts after the accident because who could look at him twice? The only good things he had, his hands, got destroyed along with his car, so nope. Yes, he thought about the general idea of sex, but he ended up being close friends with the only two people who could interest him enough to sleep with. Then again, sleeping with someone was one thing, having kids, not his cup of tea. 

“It’s just…” He said he didn’t even know what to say, let alone having a good response enough for Tony Stark. 

“If you are going to say that you have trust issues, I know, Cloakie knows, Peter knows, Morgan knows, that nice old lady that lives at the other side of the street knows - well, Ms Brukes also thinks we are together so I wouldn’t call her a reliable source of information on you, but still -, everyone knows. And I’m the same. I don’t trust people just because they show up and tell me they knew my mom,” He smiled as if letting know Stephen that it was fine. He knew it wasn’t, not at Stephen levels. It wasn’t that he simply didn’t trust people, it ran much deeper. “But she’s scared and alone, and the last thing she needs is that her own father doubts her words.” 

“I was going to say I don’t know how to behave with her,” Stephen answered, but he knew Tony was right. 

“Yeah, they don’t come with instructions. I tried to search for a suggestions box after Morgan, you know, asking to provide some, or a button to turn the volume off, but couldn’t find any,” Stark smiled, a real smile and not one of the tense smirks he issued to pretty much everyone. “At least yours already has the poop upgrade.” 

Stephen stared into whiskey brown eyes trying to understand if the billionaire was serious only to realize that he couldn’t tell, not for real. And broke into laughs a moment later. “The poop upgrade? Seriously?!” 

“You’ll be great, Steph. You are funny and magical. And yes, maybe the tricks work better with someone who can’t use magic on a daily basis, but still, you can freeze her.” 

“I won’t freeze anyone, stop trying to convince me to,” Stephen rolled his eyes at the ceiling, trying not to think about the “you are funny” part. 

“I just want to call you Elsa.”

“And that’s why ice spells are banned from this house.” 

“I take it back, you are no fun! Absolutely not, you are a boring old man,” Stephen nodded because it wasn’t like there was something different he could do. He had no idea when it was the last time he saw Tony really smiling at him like that. Maybe, in that future, it never happened. Not during the night, not when it was just the two of them and Morgan was sleeping, and Peter and Harley weren’t around. He wore a mask, during the day, something that made it easier to get through the bad days without bothering his daughter too much, but it shattered once they were alone. Now, the man in front of him seemed happy, even if just for a span of seconds. Tony turned to look at him, the echo of the laughter was still in his eyes, but somehow the engineer stopped it before it became hysterical. “You are staring.” 

“You seem different, happier…”

“You- it’s you,” Tony interrupted him. And though Stephen knew that he wasn’t speaking about anything but the company he provided, still his heart couldn’t help but miss a beat. “I’m serious, Steph, I don’t know where I could have gone without you. The house and the tower, those were places I built with her, and the Compound reminds me of the battle. I couldn’t stay there.”

“You would have found a way, you always have in the past,” Stephen answered, and the last person he wanted to talk about was Pepper, but he never did and if he felt comfortable enough to start now, the Doctor couldn’t deny him that much. 

“Maybe, probably, in some decades. I’m not the one who can see the future. I am the man of the future, I breathe future, seeing it is for losers,” Tony smirked, a soft light illuminated his dark eyes. “You are a good man, Stephen Strange, and I’m going to bed so I don’t stay up and do what I want to. It’s better if I go to sleep.” 

And Stephen had no idea how to reply to that sentence, but all he could do was staring emptily at the spot Stark had left by his side on the couch. After a moment, Stephen nodded to himself and went up in his bedroom. It wasn’t as if he had anything else to do. 

What he didn’t expect, though, was the soft knocking at his door a few moments later. He let the Cloak flow to the door to open it because he didn’t sense a threat behind it, and was ready to see Peter walking through the door, when it was opened. It wasn’t rare for the Spider-Teen to stop by after patrol, especially if he got injured. He tried to avoid Tony if that was the case, so he started to walk straight to Stephen’s room, but the point was that Parker usually used the window to enter whatever room he wanted to be in the Sanctum, not the door. 

“Sorry,” The voice at the opposite side of the door said, when it swung open revealing Sofia. “I didn’t mean to bother you. It’s just, I can’t really sleep and I think you have a lot of questions for me.”

The Sorcerer nodded, moving from the bed and making another desk chair appear out of nowhere so that they both could sit down. “You don’t have to answer. I won’t force you.”

Sofia smiled softly, her light eyes ran on her father before she seated herself on the armchair opposite him. “I know, and maybe this is the reason why I want to tell you. I’ve never been around a lot of people, you know, this is awkward for me.”

Which was sad, but there was nothing Stephen could actively do about her life before. So he just nodded, trying to understand what to say later. He knew the feeling, he could understand it better than everyone else, probably because he had never been the kind of person to bond easily with others, especially when he was a child or a teen. He was too focused on himself and being the brainy kid had never helped him. Being an adult didn’t change that, but his position and fame, especially within the walls of Metro General helped Stephen as he was always surrounded by people. There were just a few of them he could call friends, and he still felt alone most of the time, but at least he had the appearance of being social. “I know it’s wrong, showing up into your life without giving you a way out. And I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m happy you are here, even if I haven’t been really a part of your life, I’d like to know you better.” Maybe he wasn’t 100% convinced that the girl was his daughter, but he trusted Wong and Tony, and if they said she was, well, he could at least leave her space to explain. And if she wanted to stay with him, well, who was he to send a young girl eager to know things away? She had lost something and she went to look for Kamar-Taj, even if in a very uncommon way, just like Stephen had. It wasn’t his place to deny her shelter, and just maybe, he wanted to know more about his daughter. Who could blame him?

“Thank you,” Sofia answered and just then she seemed to acknowledge the time. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m keeping you awake. Maybe it’s better if we have this conversation in the morning?” 

“I couldn’t sleep anyway.” When he saw the teenager nodding at him he understood there was something she didn’t want to tell him, but the feeling was shared. “So, there’s something I shouldn’t mention at all? Except for, well, the grape on steroids.”

That gained a short chuckle from Sofia. She sits, crossed-leg, a hand holding her ankles before answering: “Mom, I think. I’ve already told you everything I know about her anyway, though.”

“Your magic,” Stephen decided. It seemed to be a trivial question, something not too personal, and yet he was curious because he had never seen anyone do what she was doing. “How did you learn it?”

The way she moved her hand, producing what seemed to be an orange and barely perceptible fog reminded Stephen of Wanda. He had never seen any Sorcerer produce that brand of magic, though where the woman’s magical signature was filled with rage, he could feel calm and a hint of fear in Sofia’s. “Aunt Vesper - my nanny - told me magic flows in my veins, in my very core. She isn’t a Sorceress, from what I know, but she knows Kamar-Taj and its practices. She taught me a few things, but I’m a natural with a lot of others. Her words, not mine.”

“I’m a natural too, according to the former Sorceress Supreme,” He smiled, almost proudly, looking at the girl in front of him. He could understand what Wong said about their magical signatures because he was feeling that too, now that it was just the two of them. There was something familiar that flowed between them. “She just told me in the wrong moment. Like, when I didn’t believe this was even real.” 

They were two sides of the same coin, probably: she was born deep down in a world filled with Mystic Art, while Stephen never really believed in anything, his thoughts and actions were based in logic, in science. It was weird, but he couldn’t help but be happy having her there, in that moment, to feel how close their magic signatures were, and to hope they could eventually become close as well, as people. 

They kept on speaking until Sofia fell asleep curled up on the armchair. The Cloak of Levitation wrapped itself around the teenager's shoulders and waited for Stephen to nod to fly her to its master’s bed. Stephen couldn’t sleep, so he turned his attention to work he had been neglecting of late before the new day began.

\--

Unsurprising, shortly before seven in the morning, a portal opened in the middle of the main room in the Sanctum. Stephen, by now, wasn’t even surprised. It wasn’t something that happened every day, but he had expected the librarian to appear as they had not finished their discussion over what should be done about Sofia.

“Good morning, Wong,” he said, the moment the other Sorcerer walked into the kitchen, looking around as if he was waiting to see Sofia appear out of thin air. Stephen suspected that, if she wasn’t sleeping and she wanted to, she could do that. Not that it mattered. “How can I help you?”

To a certain extent, Stephen was sure that the librarian was checking on him. He knew his friend trusted him, as one of the first who advocated for Stephen to be the next Sorcerer Supreme, but if he considered that the other option he had for the man’s behavior was that he enjoyed his company and Strange was prone to believe that wasn’t the case. 

“Stark got me addicted to his illegally good coffee,” he answered with a sigh. “And we have a situation. Not a real problem, for now, but Mordo is getting closer.”

The name alone was enough for Stephen’s attention to snap completely back at his friend. They had tried to locate the man since the Mad Titan had been defeated, and still couldn't find a trace. If he was moving closer to them he knew nothing good would follow. 

“If you can cover up here, I’ll go back to Kamar-Taj, then, we will have to look for someone to take the title of Master of this place until we have him in our hands. I can’t really help from here,” the doctor said. He didn’t want to leave the Sanctum because it meant letting down Tony. He promised the man a place where to stay, even if it wasn’t exactly in his power as Master of the Sanctum. It was as Supreme Sorcerer, though, and so he did, but giving the New York Sanctumto someone else meant as well that they could ask the genius to leave. Wong nodded and Stephen was already crossing into Kamar-Taj when a voice he knew all too well reached his ears.

“Are you leaving?” Morgan sounded uncertain, almost scared to ask the question in the first place, and the expression in her big hazel eyes broke Stephen’s heart. 

“I’m not leaving, smart girl. I’m just going to Kamar-Taj for an emergency for a couple of hours, then I’ll be back,” Stephen could feel Wong’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Morgan that he was planning on staying in Nepal longer than he could predict. “But I guess i can stay for a little bit longer, do you agree, Wong?”

The other man rolled his eyes at the ceiling, then decided that, probably, Mordo wasn’t going to make any move at that precise moment and agreed with Stephen. It didn’t take long for Tony to join them and shortly after a very sleep-deprived Sofia helped by an assist from the Cloak flew down from the stairs. Apparently, the piece of fabric loved whoever had Strange as their last name because it hadn’t left Sofia’s shoulders all night long. 

Stephen took his time to look at the scene in front of him. Tony was pretending to be extremely interested in his cup of coffee, which was weird for the man, but Stephen remembered their conversation from the previous night and even if he didn’t really understand it, he suspected that was the reason. He also took the chair which was nearest to Stephen’s, despite it being usually Harley’s when the teen was around or Wong’s. 

Morgan was in front of her father, while Wong was seated between her and Sofia, speaking with the latter about what Stephen realized with dread, were his first days in Kamar-Taj. His daughter was laughing over the rim of her own cup and Stephen admired how more carefree she seemed to be. 

“Nice, isn’t it?” Tony asked, barely a whisper so that Strange was the only person who could hear him. A moment later, he added: “Ten years ago, if you would have told me I would have cherished a nice breakfast with my daughter I would have answered that it was a boring as fuck future.”

He turned his eyes to look at Morgan, smiling happily and Stephen thought that yes, it was nice. And if ten years before someone would have told him he was going to be a Sorcerer, have a daughter and losing himself in the contemplation of Tony Stark he would have advised they get a CAT Scan. And yet, he was more content than he’d ever been. Life was weird. “You’re telling me,” he answered, flashing Tony a soft smile. 

“Can I ask you a favor?” Tony asked him, after some moments of silence. He waited for the Sorcerer to nod before continuing: “There’s a SI meeting today, a huge one I can’t really avoid and where I can’t send Rhodey,” Stephen knew that, after Pepper’s death, Tony took back the title of Stark Industries CEO, though Rhodey did most of the work, sometimes helped by Carol when it came to keep Fury under control. Stephen was also sure that Jim could compete with him in the pining league, but still, it wasn’t like he was going to voice that thought loud anytime soon. “And, well, I don’t really, you know, everyone knows what happened at the Compound, but…. If it’s possible. I mean, it’s Bucky the one who made the metal arm look cool and…”

Stephen nodded, understanding what Tony meant maybe even before he could voice the Bucky’s thing. It wasn’t just because he saw Tony’s hand starting to scratch at his right arm as if he was trying to rip it away, it was because he knew Tony, or what Tony wanted for him to know. And the man hated each of his scars because they brought back his past. A past that he deeply regretted, even if he didn’t have to. 

“I can make it look like if it’s your real arm, flesh, bones, everything,” he confirmed. “But it won’t last long. It’ll be an illusion, and as every illusion, proximity is fundamental for it to last. I’ll be in Kamar-Taj all day long, so -”

“An additional excuse to cut it short,” Tony said, with a resigned smirk, and Stephen understood that the reason behind it was that Tony wanted to avoid his old life, little having to do with the Sorcerer’s words and presence. “Should we call a babysitter?”

“Wong will stay at the Sanctum,” the Sorcerer said, and that was enough to have his friend to turn and look at him, a questioning glance in his dark eyes. “Tony has a meeting and I won’t be here, can you look after them?”

“The Sanctum and the girls?” Wong asked. “Well, it can’t be harder than looking after you, I guess.” 

They all were still laughing when one of Tony’s phones went off; it wasn’t his everyday one, a super old model which was his “new” one, but the phone he had kept to support Friday, and which had become the phone only used in emergency by the few people he kept in contact with since the events at the Compound.

That was a StarkPhone prototype which had Friday in it and which was connected to Stark’s official-private number. A number that he didn’t give to anyone. The first thing he did, after the battle, was to sign a new contract and buy a new phone, both under Stephen’s name, and of which existence very few people knew about, as in, the ones in that room minus Sofia, and Harley, Peter, Happy and Rhodey - which meant Carol and May too, very likely, but the women weren’t the people Tony was(n’t) hiding from. The other one, the one the Avengers knew, was almost forgotten, and Tony kept it only because his new iPhone couldn’t support Friday’s code, and he wasn’t going to leave her back. He wasn’t going to leave behind any of his bots, to be honest, and DUM-E, Butterfingers and U were currently at Rhodey’s, waiting for the green light from Stephen to bring them in. 

Tony groaned as he remembered it was in the main room of the Sanctum, and once the mechanic stood with a huff, Stephen knew he wasn’t going to ignore the call, so he opened a portal and reached for the phone, handing it to the man after checking the caller ID. It was Banner, one of the few people from whom Tony could accept a phone call. 

“Hey Brucie-bear,” He heard Stark saying, before the man disappeared into the other room. Stephen knew that they kept hearing from each other, they still exchanged ed emails, from what Tony told him. Most of the times they spoke about trivial things, not yet able to deal with the elephant in the room. Strange didn’t know if their bond was based on the fact that they slept together after Loki’s failed invasion or from losing the women they loved in the fight against Thanos. And yet, he couldn't be jealous of Banner. They had become friends, at the few parties to celebrate the Avengers’ victory Stephen took part in. He tried to push away the thought and focus on his untouched tea before Tony all but bolted into the kitchen again. 

“Strange, Wong, there’s an emergency two blocks south, Sam and Bucky are on their way, but we are closer.”

And the point was, Stephen was aware that Bruce wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t a matter of life and death, and he couldn’t simply pretend he didn’t know. The Cloak left Sofia’s shoulders to wrap around his in the exact moment when Strange changed his sweatpants into his robes. 

He saw Sofia shifting on her chair, as if she was ready to join them and, immediately, he understood that it was exactly what she wanted to do. He couldn’t even tell how, he was just aware of that. And, honestly, that was the last thing he wanted. “You stay and protect Morgan.”

“I can fight!” And, as to prove it, she conjured a mandala on her left palm. 

“I know you can.” He didn’t even know if it was the right thing to say, but he saw Wong heading for the door followed shortly by Tony and knew he didn’t have any more time. “I wouldn’t ask you to protect her otherwise, I trust you, Sofia.” And, somehow, he wasn’t surprised to realize that he was speaking the truth. 

He saw Tony looking at them, and a part of him knew that he didn’t want to say goodbye to his daughter. He didn’t want to take part in any fight any longer, but it was second nature to him; he had to protect anyone who needed help, no matter the cost. And still, he couldn’t look at Morgan knowing he might not return. Stephen decided in that moment that Sofia wasn’t going to be the only person to protect a Stark, that day. 

\--

Sofia turned to look at the girl who was finishing her breakfast. She had no idea how to behave with others, especially with child sized humans, so she started to collect the empty cups, all the while, keeping an eye on Morgan. 

The small Stark seemed to be extremely interested in Sofia’s movements while she levitated another bowl gently into the sink. “You are a wizard too.” She beamed, flashing the Sorcererss with a bright smile. Sofia knew she was wearing a matching one. It was easy, smiling at the young girl. Easier than it had ever been in her past. 

She had no idea how long they waited for Tony, Stephen and Wong to come back, but, at some point, the golden sparkles of a portal started to appear in the middle of the Sanctum’s main room. They both bolted up from the sofa they were seated on, speaking about everything and nothing, ready to great their fathers when a different silhouette started to appear in the golden circle. 

Whoever that person was, they were taller than Wong and Tony and shorter than Stephen, but it was their robes that Sofia was sure she had never seen before. Deep green robes were moving following the air from the other side of the portal. The man raised his eyes to look at the girls as if he wasn’t expecting them to be there at all. There was something in the man, that scared Sofia. She turned to look at Morgan, then moved her hands a moment later so that they both were protected by an orange-gold shield, her light eyes fixed on the man in front of them. 

“Who are you?” He asked, his dark eyes were looking at something behind the girls. Something in the depths of Sofia’s mind was screaming danger and the magic that was starting to shift in her body had nothing to do with the magic she had spent years learning. It was pure energy getting her on total alert. It was like a sixth sense, something she didn’t have a name for. 

“You're the one trespassing,” she answered, as the man’s eyes were now trained on her. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“Is this what the Mystical Arts have become?” The man’s dark eyes focused on Sofia, now interested in the magic around her. “I’d never thought Strange could go so far, bastardizing it with the magic from the Dark Dimension.” 

He laughed harshly, before using his own magic to create a sword of light and aiming it at Sofia. The girl raised her arm, using the shield to block the blow and turning to look at Morgan. “Run!”

The younger girl didn’t need to be told twice. She immediately went for the stairs, and in that exact moment the man who stepped through the portal turned to look at her and started to follow Morgan. That was the distraction Sofia needed, turning her wrist and making the stairs change under the man’s feet, turning every step into a slippery surface. The man fell to the wooden floor, the sword out of his reach. Sofia decided to ignore it, well aware that it would disappear any time soon and approached the man, the shield still protecting her. 

“Who are you?” She asked, again, and she knew that she seemed to be more confident than she really was. If she had to be honest, she could feel the pounding of her own heart in her ears. Her hand was shaking slightly too, the golden mandala in her right palm quivered just enough for her to feel it, and she swore to herself. She really hoped the other man didn’t notice. For good measure, she let magical ropes wrap around the man’s wrist, keeping him held to the spot. 

“My name’s Mordo,” the other Sorcerer spat out, without looking at Sofia, now. “How did you do that? Reality can’t be manipulated outside the Mirror Dimension.”

Sofia stepped back, her breathing became more frantic, as she blinked at him in astonishment. She knew of the name he used. She just had no idea how he could be there, in the Sanctum, in the different dimension where she had ended up. Baron Mordo was a rogue Sorcerer whom nobody spoke of. At least, that was what Aunt Vesper told her once, during her training.  
He had destroyed Kamar-Taj with the false illusion of bringing back the order to its original form. His intentions were noble, to a certain degree, but he couldn’t understand where and when to stop. And still, everyone who practiced magic knew how fierce and temible he was.

She was trying to understand how he could be the man in front of her, when the sound of steps against the wooden floor reached her and, a moment later, something electrical snapped at her back. 

“Sofia, behind you!” Morgan yelled, her right hand opened in front of her, to reveal an Iron-Man gauntlet around it. The Sorceress raised her hand as well, aiming again at Mordo who was grinning. She didn't dare to look behind her, but let the shield surround her body. Whatever Morgan had just hit was twisting at the margins of her sight. She didn’t want to know what it was either. 

She moved her hands again, this time blocking with the ropes every movement from the other man before spinning on herself to deal with everything else. The darkness of the Sanctum seemed to have taken its own shape as a multitude of insect like creatures which were moving toward Sofia, all while Morgan was trying to aim at them from the banister. The teenage girl had no idea what Mordo had over them, and she didn’t really want to know. 

That was the instant she heard someone else entering the Sanctum. With a flip of her hand, she set the creatures on fire before summoning mandalas for each hand and turning to face the newcomers’ just to find herself face to face with her father and Tony. Wong was at the engineer's back, taking care of Mordo, but she didn’t care about what was going on because the moment she saw her father all she could do was to fall on her knees, shaking. Tony ran up the stairs, to protectMorgan, but the only thing Sofia could think about was that the person she was supposed to protect was the one who very likely saved her life. 

“Are you ok?” She heard someone asking, and it took some instant to understand that Stephen was speaking to her. Nobody ever checked on her, especially since she started to use her magic to help people in the aftermath of Thanos’ decimation of her dimension. Unlike the dimension she had portaled to, the Mad Titan didn’t let the fates decide. His Snap was deliberate, aimed at every person who had powers. She still had no idea how she survived it. But her Earth was as good as gone and there was nothing Sofia could do on her own. She was alone, and nobody cared about her. Hearing those words coming from her father was suddenly overwhelming. 

Stephen smiled softly, letting his daughter focus back on him and only when he was sure she was now listening he repeated the question, sincerely relieved when she nodded in confirmation. He could see Tony checking Morgan for injuries, but he had already sensed the girl was fine. 

“You did great,” he said, a moment later, lowering himself so that he could look at his daughter in the eyes. “You’ve been very brave, Sofia. You did very well. Everything is fine.”

Sofia nodded, and even as her eyes looked distant, he could see something creeping through them. The girl took Stephen’s extended hand and smiled back at the Sorcerer when he helped her to her feet. 

Strange turned to look at Wong a moment later. The librarian imprisoned Mordo with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and was opening a portal, he assumed to Kamar-Taj. “I’ve got to go to Nepal,” He said, waiting a moment later for a confirmation from his friend. “I’ll try to come back as soon as possible, do you have this under control?” 

He waited for Tony to nod, but a moment later he could see hesitation in the genius’s eyes. Of course, Tony had never been fond of magic, but after a rogue sorcerer attacked his daughter he wasn’t going to stay alone in the Sanctum for even a second longer. Stephen could see it in the way in which he was clinging onto Morgan. 

“I can bring her with me to the board meeting and then we can stay at Rhodey’s for a while if you are not back yet, no problem, Doc.” Tony smiled at him, and while Stephen could feel a wave of jealousy raising up even as he knew that it was the best option for the time being. 

“Morgan can stay at the Sanctum with me, if she wants to,” Sofia interrupted. “I mean, we were having fun before Mordo arrived.”

Morgan seemed extremely happy at the idea, and Stephen couldn’t help but smile as well when Tony rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “So, now you’ve found someone more interesting to spend your time with? You’re offending me. I’m the coolest person around.”

“You don’t do magic.” The younger Stark answered, and Stephen had the time of his life as an apparently genuine hurt expression took over Tony’s face. Stephen wished he could stop that moment forever, he wished he could relieve it in a loop. 

“I’m going to leave everything to Peter, I have three kids and two of them betrayed me for the wizard. Friday, inform the Spiderling he’s my only heir.” 

“Mr. Parker doesn’t know he’s in your will, Boss,” Friday’s voice interrupted. “It would be inadvisable to let him know he’s the only heir. He’s prone to giving you headaches, and breaking this news will, surely, provoke one.”

Stephen wanted to stay and know how that conversation was going to play out, but Wong hurried him from the other side of the portal so all the Supreme Sorcerer could do was to create an illusion around Tony’s maimed arm and follow his friend to Kamar-Taj.

\--

When he stumbled through the portal back in theSanctum, Stephen was barely keeping it together because of the exhaustion. Mordo’s trial had been longer than originally planned and more exhaustive. Apparently, a few of the Masters, while not approving of his methods, agreed with the rogue Sorcerer and weren’t ready to make an example out of him. Stephen didn’t want to either and not only because Mordo had been a friend and mentor. The laws of the Sorcerers were extremely severe. To be found guilty of the crimes Mordo was on trial for was punishable by death, and even though his daughter was attacked, and his Sanctum invaded, Strange still held to his strongly held belief, of ‘do no harm.’ 

Karl claimed that he didn’t know that the girls were in the Sanctum in the first place, and didn’t plan on hurting them and while Stephen didn’t trust him, he had to admit, at least to himself that he couldn’t think of a way in which his old friend would know that there was someone in the Sanctum. Quite the opposite, considering that the threat the Avengers detected had been created by Mordo so that Sanctum should have been abandoned. His explanation had made sense, and for this reason Stephen decided to take away Mordo’s powers and banish him from Kamar-Taj rather than hand down the ultimate punishment. The desperate light in the man’s eyes after he sentenced him was haunting Stephen, but he knew it was better he be alone and without memories of the last few years than dead. 

And still, Strange was psychologically exhausted and aware that he probably antagonized a lot of Sorcerers with his decision. All he wanted to do was to reach his bed and sleep for the next three days straight. But, since very rarely he got what he wanted, he found himself face to face with Tony. The man was in the kitchen, seated in front of a glass of whiskey, the bottle resting against the counter, almost completely empty. 

“I saw Clint, after the meeting,” he said, the moment Stephen let the portal collapse at his back. “He’s… in a bad place. I think he’s trying to keep it together for Laura and his children, but he’s not over it. And I… What’s wrong with me, Stephen?”

The Sorcerer could feel his own surprised expression just as well as he could smell the alcohol on Tony’s breath. “Nothing.” He answered, and despite everything, Stephen knew that it was true. Sure, Tony wasn’t perfect because he was too old to believe in the belief that human beings could be perfect and he didn’t really believe in that even when he was younger, but there was nothing wrong with Stark. 

“Then how can I joke, walk outside this house and pretend nothing happened? Pretend my wife didn’t die to save my life, pretend my ex didn’t jump down from a cliff to save the universe?” And, for once, the confirmation of Stephen’s suspicions about a past relationship between him and Natasha wasn’t the most surprising sentence in a conversation. “I loved them both, and still I’m not mourning them enough. So, again, what’s wrong with me?” 

Strange shook his head, slowly lowering himself on the stool by Tony’s side and taking the glass out of his reach. “I don’t know Clint as well as I know you, but I know for certain that you and Barton are two different people. There’s no right way to suffer or mourn.” Or deal with guilt. Stephen didn’t voice that. Tony didn’t need to know that he blamed himself for Natasha and Pepper’s death. That was his burden to bear and he wasn’t going to add his problems to the weight on Tony’s shoulders. 

He had known he was going to sacrifice the lives of two people when he handled the Time Stone to the Mad Titan, and even if it was the only way, he couldn’t help but blame himself. If there was one single timeline in which he was strong enough to use the Gauntlet himself he would have taken it without a second thought. 

Tony raised his head from his hands and moved them to look at Stephen, a soft and sad smile on his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for seeing a better man in me, than I am or ever will be.”

The Sorcerer nodded and couldn’t stop the impulse to brush his shaking fingers against Tony’s. It was stupid, it was pointless, it was taking advantages of a man who was emotionally vulnerable, but there was a tenderness in Tony that Stephen couldn’t resist. “You are a good man, Tony Stark. The best I’ve ever met.”

Tony lifted his hand and let his fingers run along the doctor’s cheek, tracing his cheekbone with his thumb and, a moment later, he was smashing their lips together. It was short, chaste and desperate, thought Stephen, and he couldn’t help from letting himself lean into the kiss until he felt Tony’s tongue pushing for entrance. And that was what brought the Sorcerer to push the other man gently away from him. “Tony, Tony,” he said, in a barely audible whisper. Before Tony could say a word, he continued, “there’s nothing I’d like more than to kiss you, but not now, not like this.” 

The billionaire's eyes, once he raised them on Stephen, were filled with the ghost of tears and Strange couldn’t help but hate himself a little bit more because of that. “You are drunk, and sad, and you are going to regret this in the morning.”

“I won’t,” Tony replied. “Will you, though?”

“Only if I kiss you now. It’ll be taking advantage of you, and I don’t want to do that.” He smiled, knowing it was a bit sad and bitter too. “I like you, Tony, and maybe I’m telling you this just because you won’t remember in the morning, but I really do like you and I would never regret kissing you.” 

Tony seemed to understand, because he nodded without letting go of Stephen’s face, as it rested in his hand, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world. “I just, I just feel better when you are around, is all.” 

A moment later, Tony let his head fall against Stephen’s chest and in a blink of an eye he was out cold. Stephen smiled at him, letting the Cloak to move the genius and knowing far too well that he wasn’t going to get the sleep he had hoped to. He knew he was going to spend the night thinking about that kiss and the ghostly sensation of the Iron Man gauntlet against his skin. And, at the same time, Stephen was cursing his eidetic memory because no universe existed in which he could forget the conversation. 

\--

The next morning, Stephen tried to be out of the Sanctum before Tony woke up or before the genius decided to show up in the kitchen for his coffee. It wasn’t as if Strange knew if he was actually sleeping or just spending time in his bedroom, waiting for him to leave. In the best case scenario, Stark wouldn’t remember the previous night at all so he wouldn’t have to make up a story, but considering that things rarely went as Stephen wanted to and he had essentially admitted to the man that he had a crush on him, it was better to avoid the genius for the time being. 

Which was the reason the Sorcerer was caught by surprise when, halfway into the training classes he was teaching in Kamar-Taj, his phone alerted him that he had an incoming text. The people who might text him recently were more than they had been when he started to practice the Mystic Arts, but considering that Christine was very likely still at the hospital, Wong would have done better shooting his name across the yard, and Harley, Peter and Morgan usually didn’t want to bother him when he was on his Sorcerer Supreme duties, he was pretty sure that the text was from Stark himself. Which led him to realize his daughter didn’t even have his phone number, but he wasn’t sure if Sofia had a mobile with her in the first place. God, he was really bad at the father thing!

He let the novices continue practicing the hand gestures and took the time to step away and opened it. What he didn’t expect, though, was Stark telling him that Harley was back from MIT and was staying for a couple of days over, if that wasn’t a problem for Stephen’s magic house. He also added that he found the teen and Sofia cooking pancakes and “smiling like idiots to each other”. No mention of Stephen’s idiotic behaviour from the night before. And while a huge part of him hoped for that to continue, there was another, more treacherous, part of him that wanted for him to remember. Remember and accept Strange’s feelings, even if he knew it was just a daydream that would never become reality. 

He nodded, remembering a moment later that Tony couldn’t see the gesture, and then typed a short answer telling the genius that Harley could stay as long as he wanted to. If the stories Stark told him about the kid were true, there wasn’t anything he could do to stop Harley anyway. And, against every prevision, that thought brought a bright smile on Stephen’s lips. Which lasted about three seconds, the time for Tony to answer his text. 

“Also, Carol is back too, Rhodey asked me if Morgan and Harley want to go out to dinner with them and, I don’t know, if Sof wants to go, it’s fine. We can order something and have it delivered.” Stephen could read what he hadn’t written in the text. They could speak about what happened over whatever delicious food Tony wanted to order. And then he would very likely tell him that he was moving in with his best friend because he went to Stephen when he needed help and all the Sorcerer did was to take advantage of the situation. 

He decided that he could take another couple of minutes from the novices and tried to find which was the best way to answer the text. He had never been good at texting even when typing didn’t kill his hands, but now he tried to be as short as possible, too proud to use the voice command. He also knew that Siri would have probably fucked up most of his words, so pain it was. Pain and short messages. But that conversation needed more than that. “I’ll probably be needed here longer than I thought. I have a lot of paperwork to deal with as a consequence of what happened with Mordo and his trial. If you need to talk, though, I can open a gateway for you. Just tell me when.”

And then he pocketed his phone, turning the volume off. He couldn’t be touched by the troubles of the material world or whatever stupid mantra Mordo was going to tell him over and over again. The truth was that he didn’t want to find himself face to face with the dreaded truth of Tony going away and leaving an empty Sanctum at his back. 

\--

When Stephen finally got around to checking his phone around dinner time - in the US, at least - he found an incredible amount of messages. The first was an answer to his last one. Tony said that it was fine for him and that he would have ordered more for the masters who wanted to join them. The others were all from Tony, and seemed to be a sort of chronicle of what was going on at the Sanctum without him. Stephen breathed out a sigh of relief, all of the messages seem to mean Tony wasn’t angry about last night, it didn’t seem like he wanted to leave the safety of the Sanctum. He was reaching out, trying to speak with him, even more than usual, and Stephen wasn’t going to complain. 

He waited for the clock to hit seven PM in New York before opening the portal for Tony to walk through. While all the Sanctums had doors that led both to the other buildings and to Kamar-Taj, Tony had drawn the line to portals he was willing to cross to the ones that either Stephen or Wong created. He trusted them, apparently, to not drop him in the middle of the universe. Which was something Stark deserved at least half of the time, according to the librarian, but still. 

“I’m sure I can travel the same distance with my suit in half of the time it took you to open this sparkle circus thing,” he said to the Supreme Sorcerer the moment he stepped through the gateway. “We should bet on it, you know, include all the Hogwarts students. They could win an internship at Stark Industries and find a real way to explain all this science that still need to be explained.”

Stephen couldn’t help but smile, looking at the genius gesturing vaguely around him. Strange was a man of science, he didn’t believe in magic the first time the Ancient One showed him and he wasn’t sure that an explanation to most of the things he was capable of doing now didn’t exist. He rolled his eyes to the sky every time Tony suggested that theory, but there was a part of him that knew Stark was right. Or that, at least, science probably could explain how the Mystic Arts worked in some cases.

The moment Tony’s whiskey brown eyes searched for Stephen’s, though, the Sorcerer knew he had dropped his goofy smile, without backing off from the other’s glance, simply out of pride. “Or maybe, I can apologize for what I did last night.”

And goodbye to every hope that Stephen still had in getting away with that conversation. He nodded, anyway, steel-blue eyes fixed on something which was behind them both, far away in space and time. A different possibility, probably, a future he had never known of. “You don’t have to.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Tony replied, immediately, and while Stephen wanted to say something, he knew the genius was right: they needed to speak, and not about the fact that a very drunk Tony kissed him, but about the mistake Strange made. Because, at first, he kissed him back. “I overstepped boundaries here, and I shouldn’t have. I know you are going to say that I was sad, and drunk, and tired and whatever, but I shouldn’t. It doesn’t even matter… I’ll go to Rhodey’s, ok? Just, I wanted to thank you for… everything, really. You took me in, and, well, you helped a lot. Morguna, and me, and then with Sofia, like, two crazy days on top of a few crazy months…”

Stephen looked at him, only in that moment, trying to figure out what Tony was really trying to say. He didn’t want him to go, and didn’t want him to do that because of what happened. Even if a part of him knew it was his fault. He should have kept his pining and longing to himself. Tony was going through hell, trying to keep going just for his daughter and he ruined everything. He had ruined the only place where Stark still felt safe. 

“It’s fine,” he said, it was barely a whisper, but still audible to the mechanic. “If anything, it’s my fault, and you don’t have to go, if you don’t want to. We can pretend last night never happened.”

And, for a moment, he saw a darker light flash in Tony’s eyes. But it didn’t last long enough for him to be sure. “Morgan loves the Sanctum, I think she’s getting used to it, and you know, she’s young, I don’t want to make her go through too much moving around, she needs roots.”

His left hand went to his right arm, Stephen could see his callous fingers almost scratching at the metallic surface and he knew it was a nervous tic of Tony’s. He always did that when he was anxious, especially during the few interviews he released after the death of the Mad Titan. Strange hated to see him doing it in a conversation with him of all people. He felt the Cloak on his shoulders pushing him in the direction of the other man and couldn’t help but roll his eyes to the sky. Of course, he had thought about moving closer, but again, boundaries were a hazy thing between the two of them.

“You’re here, you’re back.” He said, instead. The words Tony pronounced to help him coming back from his trance on Titan. He knew where Tony’s mind was going, even if he didn’t know what triggered that train of thought. 

Tony didn’t answer as he usually did. No soft “hi”s escaped his lips, not even an hinted version of it. He just shook his head and stayed there, petrified in the middle of Kamar-Taj courtyard. And, at that, Stephen did move closer, taking carefully Tony’s prosthetic arm in his damaged hands. “Hey, you are safe here. Probably the safest place in the world where to be.”

He sounded stupid to his own ears: the person he was speaking with was the savior of the universe, after Thanos, nobody even dared to get close to Tony Stark both from outside Earth and in his business. Stephen, like everyone, knew as much. He also knew it because Stark allowed him to give him a protection charm implanted in the new Arc Reactor. It took some moments, but when Stark spoke, Stephen wasn’t sure what to think about: “I can’t promise you this won’t happen again.” He admitted, “me, kissing you… my mind has gone there, a couple of times before. But it’s okay if it’s not the same for you. I mean, there’s the pretty doctor, your daughter’s mom, and May, because she totally has a crush on you. There’s always Bruce, if you prefer men, he’s brilliant, in and out of bed. I don’t really know why I thought this was a good idea. But well, if you want me to stay, you should know that.”

It was a stream of words, just as Tony’s brain was a stream of new ideas, and that was exactly the thing Stephen loved most about the man. He knew his smile would probably give him away, so he choose to look, again, into the void before answering: “May has a crush on Happy, I’ve never known Sof’s mom in this dimension and I’m not willing to. She left our daughter alone, nobody deserves that, but Sofia is so scared by what can happen and... how can you leave someone alone like that?”

“Maybe to avoid making mistakes,” There was sadness, in Tony’s voice, but Stephen knew it was a question for another day. He went back to silently listening to the Sorcerer.

“Christine and Bruce have been dating since the Compound battle, anyway. They met when I was dusted and you were at the lake. Five years of dancing around.” He knew that he needed to explain to Tony it was different, he and this Clea were different because he would have never let Morgan behind, didn’t matter what, but that wasn’t the point. “Pretty doctor, my best friend and the most beautiful human soul in this world? Her name is Christine, she’s great, and I don’t even care if Banner can turn into a green rage-filled monster: he’ll receive the worst shovel talk in his entire life if he tries to hurt her.”

“Last girlfriend he had, her father sent a merc after him,” Tony smiled, and there was sadness in his eyes. Somehow, Stephen knew it was only partially because of the other genius. “I’m pretty sure not even Cloakie can be worse. And your outerwear really scares me.” 

As if in response to totally-not-its name, the Cloak’s hem wrapped itself around Tony’s middle, dragging him closer to Stephen. “I’ve been thinking about it,” the Sorcerer continued, almost pushed by the relic’s sudden move. “I mean, not Banner, not any other people. About you. And that’s stupid. I should have pushed you away, but I couldn’t and, maybe, I want for this to happen again.”

Tony nodded and, for an instant, everything around them stilled, then Stephen leaned closer, brushing his lips against Tony’s. And all Stark could do was just let the other man kiss him, letting the takeaway bag drop on the dusty courtyard of Kamar-Taj to have a better grip on the Sorcerer.

Stephen didn’t know what to think. All he could do was stand there, the kiss becoming more heated while he parted Tony’s lips, his mind far away from the moment he was living. This was what he wanted, and yet he couldn’t think about anything different but the fact that the man was probably just trying to gain back some kind of normality in his life. Stephen was happy, and he knew that Tony would never been. But once they separated, the smile on the other man’s face was there, again, that absolutely shy smile, the one that made his eyes shine golden. He must have been staring, because after a few seconds, without the smile disappearing, Tony asked quietly: “What? Did I break you?”

“Happiness suits you,” Stephen couldn’t lie. “Your smile, I mean…”

“I think I’ve told you before: you make me feel better. I hate to repeat myself. And yes, I’m happy to kiss your stupid face.”

Stephen rolled his eyes to the sky, trying to communicate to the Cloak that it was the right moment to let them go. It didn’t seem to mind and just let enough space for Stephen to take a step back. “Yeah, whatever. I thought you brought food.”

“Find yourself a wizard, Vision said,” Tony replied, and, for once, there was not the usual sad undertone of when he spoke about his super-bot. “They are nice, kind, and always hungry. Well, I guess one out of three is good.”

—

“Oh gosh, you have to look at this!” Harley’s voice caught Sofia by surprise. She was still browsing through the menu deciding which of the numerous things she had never heard of before she wanted to try when the blond teen pushed his phone in the middle of the table, letting all the people see what he was looking at.

Carol moved first, receiving a playfully smirk from James who was, until that moment, trying to bribe Morgan out of ordering a colossal cheeseburger which was probably larger than she was. The woman moved rapidly to hide with her body the screen from everyone else and that gesture didn’t pass unseen to Morgan. “I want to see too, Auntie!”

“Just checking if it’s proper for Harley to look at it,” she answered, her stern expression moving to Keener. “And, honestly, I have no idea. What do you think, Jim?”

The phone went from the Captain to Colonel Rhodes and Sofia could swear she heard Harley rolling his eyes to the sky. What she most definitely heard was: “It is on my phone, of course, it’s proper for me to have it. I’m not a kid!”

“Yeah, maybe the girls shouldn’t see this, though,” Rhodey answered, but his expression was satisfied. “You know, to let the two idiots have someone who didn’t suspect at all what is going on.”

“That person will be Peter. I don’t think Wong wanted his number.” Harley smirked before indicating something on Sofia’s menu. “You’ll love those, Mexican food is the best!” 

And while the young sorceress had no idea if it was a feeble attempt to divert her attention or serious advice she just nodded, thanking him. 

“I was just going to ask why Wong does have your number,” Carol commented, handing the phone back to the teen. 

“Cat pics,” Harley answered with a stern expression and a tone which sounded too innocent to really being. “And to keep an eye on Tony. I’m not quite there with Stephen to ask directly.” 

Again, there was a weird light in Harley’s eyes, the one Sofia had seen during their first conversation when she told him about her father’s identity. Nobody seemed to have an answer about that, but whatever everyone might have been thinking about was silenced a moment later, when Morgan leaned over Harley’s to try to see something on the teen’s mobile phone. 

“Are Daddy and Steph kissing?” she asked, her tone seemed to be hopeful. Sofia tried not to appear too surprised at the question. It was clear, even in the short period she had spent in the Sanctum, that there was something deep between the two of them, but she wasn’t the kind of person to use labels, and, anyway, she didn’t know the two men well enough yet to understand if it was true. 

“It seems so, they are either kissing or Tony has been bitten by a jellyfish on his lips, and Dr Strange is trying to suck the poison out of them.” Carol rolled her eyes at Harley, who, in his defense, lifted his hands, as to prove that he wasn’t holding any gun. “I’m not saying that is what happened, just that magic is weird as fuck and Tony can’t keep his hands to himself, so it can be a possible explanation. I can’t believe the idiots finally figured it out!”

“Fuck is a bad word, Daddy always uses it!” Morgan piped up again, and Sofia was now having a hard time trying not to laugh too loudly. 

“Now that you make me think about it,” James decided to intervene, probably hoping that the young Stark wouldn’t remember the word once they were back home. “We are speaking about Tones and Strange, so the magic jellyfish isn’t such an improbable explanation.”

“They do not exist,” And yes, Sofia had no idea why she decided to reply just in that moment “Magical jellyfish, I mean. There are some aquatic demons, and some of them are dangerous, but they don’t use poison as jellyfish do. So, I think they are really kissing.”

“10 points to Ravenclaw, I guess,” Harley commented, with a smirk, but, apparently, the fact that Sofia had no idea of what a Ravenclaw was was clear on her face because for the rest of the dinner, conversation revolved around indoctrinating the younger Strange into the world of Harry Potter. 

\--

“You are going to break the news to the kids,” Tony whispered, content, his side pushing against Stephen’s bare chest, as his left hand traced invisible lines which followed the Sorcerer’s abs. “And we will deal with the following headache that will most certainly follow.”

And Stephen knew he shouldn’t, but he felt his body tightened against his will. Tony’s fingers stopped roaming and froze in midair over his stomach. Stephen could feel the unspoken question in the air. “I was just… do you think we should tell them?”

“Well, maybe not about this,” Tong joked, indicating their naked bodies. “But they are smart, and we live together, they are going to figure it out, eventually. If you want to tell them, I mean. If not, it’s fine.”

Stephen looked at the man and shook his head as if he was trying to stop whatever thought might have crossed Stark’s mind. “It’s not like that at all. It’s just… I want this to work, but what if I mess up? I don’t know if…”

Tony’s lips stopped him mid-sentence, pushing against the Sorcerer’s while a calloused hand pushed a lock of dark hair away from his face. “I’m the one who messes up, I’m not going to let you disappear from my life, wizard.” He whispered against his lips, and to answer that, the only thing Stephen could do was to grab Tony’s ass and drag the genius’s body over his, moving lazily his hand and letting the dark curtain cover the widow again. 

\--

They emerged from the portal in a room dark and barely lit by the first light of dawn. Despite all the years of training in Kamar-Taj, for Stephen was still strange to get used to the different time zone between Nepal and New York and the thought that they would come back in the middle of the night instead of the beginning of a new day didn’t strike him until he actually saw the shy light of the sun coming through the window of the Sanctum foyer. 

“We are lucky we spent most of our evening in a bed, I guess, baby witch and Maguna will be up in half an hour at best,” Tony said, smirking at Stephen who rolled his eyes at the ceiling before another voice reached them.

“I didn’t need to know that, man!” They both turned, almost in the same instant, Stephen with shining mandalas and Tony with the prosthetic arm ready in front of him. If the person who tried to surprise them was a threat, the Sanctum would have taken care of them, but Stephen was too taken aback by the repentine jet leg that his mind didn’t provide such an explanation. 

The sudden movement, though, brought the Sorcerer face to face with James Rhodes. The man was wearing one of Tony’s tees and had probably spent the night to keep an eye on Morgan and the teens, He didn’t seem worried by the two men in front of him, and if the smile on his lips meant something, he looked almost amused by their presence. “Took you both long enough.” Was all he said, before turning and walking back in the main room.

Stephen looked at him, turning a moment later to Tony, trying to understand if the other man understood something about the weird conversation, and then followed the Colonel, hoping that would have provided some more context to his sentence. It didn’t take long, just the time for the man to fill two cups of coffee and walking back in the Sanctum main room, handing one to Carol who was trying to sit on the couch on which, very likely, they slept. The woman acknowledged the presence of her teammates with a lifted eyebrow and nothing else. Stephen didn’t mind: everybody knew that Carol, as much as Tony, couldn’t function before her third cup of black coffee. 

“Wong sent a pic to Harley, he showed us the two of you being very busy,” Rhodey explained, and despite everything, Stephen couldn’t help himself but blush. He wasn’t a blushing virgin to any extent of the word, but the idea of Tony’s friends (and children) seeing whatever the picture showed them made him wish to strangle Wong.  
And just a moment later he realized that his daughter too might have seen the photo. God, this was something he didn’t need in his life. He was really hoping that Sofia wouldn’t have woken up any time soon. And yet, a part of him was delighted at the idea of them being a family.

Again, possibly Stephen was rushing times and he never thought about being part of a family, not after he lost his own due to resentment and death, but there was something comforting, for him, in what he has created with Tony over the months they shared the Sanctum. Maybe, he starting to fall for the genius was only the natural evolution of their weird relationship. Strange didn’t mind weird, he embraced it the moment he decided to stay in Kamar-Taj. And if weird was what led him to the point where he stood, where, that was good. Not perfect, not painless, but good enough for him to believe things weren’t going to shatter into pieces the day after tomorrow. 

Carol seemed to notice, because when she raised her eyes from the rim of her cup and looked at Stephen, she nodded, a small smile on her lips. “You are allowed to move over, Tony” 

She addressed Stark, but her eyes didn’t leave Stephen’s face, as if he was the person she was speaking with. The Sorcerer understood what she meant: the woman was speaking with them both. Tony could move over after Pepper, and Stephen must stop to blame himself for her and Natasha’s death. It was on him, he knew that, he also knew he couldn’t just stop feeling guilty, but he could pretend to, for the people he cared about who were still alive. Tony, scarred and broken just as much as he was, was only one of the examples of those people. He knew that since Stark moved to the Sanctum, a lot of other people added to that list, Carol herself and Rhodey included. He closed his eyes and then nodded, looking again at the man by his side. 

“I just feel like the conversation with Morgan, Harley, Peter and now Sofia will be… starkly strange,” Tony said, and everyone just couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the ceiling. 

“Please Tony,” a voice came from the stairs. “Never, ever say that again. It’s creepy and not funny at all.” A very awake Harley jumped down the last couple of steps before retreating in the kitchen, appearing a moment later with a cup for himself. “Anyway, I’m happy for you. On a side note: it’s really a useful thing not really being your son so it won’t be weird if I ask Sofia out. Well, see you all next weekend.” 

He mocked a military salute before throwing his backpack over his shoulder and walking out the Sanctum. Stephen’s brain took some moments to reboot as he followed with his eyes the teen outside. “Did he say he wants to ask my daughter out for a date?”

“I think you are missing the important thing he said: I’m not as funny as I thought!” Tony pretended to be offended, but it was clear that he was just messing with everyone who still believed him. Stephen glared at the man, pretending to fall for his joke. “And I can assure you that Harley is a good kid.”

“Sofia is a baby, she’s… I don’t really know how old she is, but she’s too young.” He smiled, especially when he felt the Sanctum informing him that his daughter and Morgan were awake as well, probably trying to hear what was going on downstairs. A part of him knew that Sofia was trying to understand if the conversation the adults were having was proper for Morgan’s ears. 

“I don’t think age works the same with her,” Tony said, leaning against the man by his side. Strange’s arm wrapped around Stark’s middle. “She is powerful and she probably goes with the age her body shows, considering that she doesn’t age. And she’s wiser for sure. Morgan told me the little witch wanted for her to run and hide during Evil Powerpuff’s attack.”

Stephen could hardly imagine what would have been Mordo’s reaction to Tony’s nickname for him. “This means nothing,” He said, instead. “It was the responsible thing to do.”

“And all Maguna did was to run and go for one of my armours.” Stephen knew Rhodey and Carol was staring at them, surprised by the entire conversation. They probably had no idea of what happened in the Sanctum because Tony always respected his wish to keep the Sorcerers’ questions as hidden as possible. “Harley already has his own. Iron Lad, future co-leader of the New Avengers.”

“What Morgan did, it was the most Stark thing to do. And I don’t know how having an Iron-Man suit is a proof of being mature enough, but, well, I can’t deny it has its own charm.”

“Just as much as a deadly piece of fabric!” Tony retorted. And, despite it always hated being referred as everything different from Cloak of Levitation, the Cloak wrapped around Tony, pushing the man’s back against Stephen’s chest. 

“I hate you both,” Strange said, bowing to meet Tony’s lips halfway.

“Bleah!” Morgan commented, entering the room. But Stephen could tell she was smiling and once they parted he met Sofia’s eyes which were shining in happiness. The young Sorceress moved closed, her arms wrapping around Stephen’s torso just when Tony stepped back.  
Strange had no idea of which was the reason behind that hug, but he cherished it. 

“So, are you two together?” She asked, in a whisper. Stephen nodded, just once. “Since when?”

“Yesterday,” he couldn’t see a reason to lie to the girl. What he didn’t expect, though, was the surprised expression on her face. “What?”

“Nothing,” Another smile, this time, if possible, even wider. “I just, I thought you were together when I first met you. But now I can see it better.”

“What do you mean?” 

Sofia stepped back and moved her hand as she did the night she arrived to the Sanctum. The same weird mist left her hand, but when once was orange, now it shined in different colours. It seemed like a little rainbow. He could still feel fear and uncertainty in the core of the soft fog, but also curiosity and a sense of safety at the margin of it. He couldn’t really understand the nature of Sofia’s magic. It was partly from Mystic Art, partly from the Dark Dimension (he suspected that she used that one to stop Mordo in the Sanctum), but partly was a mix of them both, which created an entirely different branch of it. 

“I can channel emotions from the people around me in my magic,” She explained. “It’s harmless and kind of useless, but pretty to look at. The last time I used it, I felt feelings of protection and caring. I thought it was because of your bond with Tony, and it was, I guess. But more like… a bond of friendship.” While everyone seemed extremely interested in Sofia’s words, Morgan was trying to reach for the shining ball of lights that Sofia was still holding in her palm. Turning the hand, she created a little transparent ball and let the mist flew into it before continuing.

The moment his daughter touched the ball, Stephen could Tony froze. He and magic weren’t on the best terms. Stephen smiled, steel blue eyes looking into whiskey brown. “Completely harmless.” He whispered, and only then Tony nodded, letting Morgan run away with her new magic toy. 

“Those colours, the feelings surrounding you all, this is what love looks like.”

“Is she right, Merlin?” Tony asked. “Do you really love me?”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “She said those are our feelings, which means that you love me too, and, most importantly, those two love each other.”

Moving everyone’s attention on Rhodey and Carol was easier. “I do not…” Carol started, but then Rhodey pushed his lips against hers. “Ok, maybe I do love you. But this is a secret.”

Maybe Stephen didn’t completely loved Tony. It was too soon to say the word aloud, but he knew he was in love with the man, and that was the only thing that mattered. He nodded, deciding that he didn’t even care about labels. At the end of the day, he never did.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments give me life, especially with a fic on which I worked a lot such as this one.  
If you want to say hi or you have some interesting prompt for me, check out my [tumblr](https://ironstrange-is-the-endgame.tumblr.com/).


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